Chapter 92: Earnest Teaching

Chen Yongren pretended not to know and continued walking toward home.

As expected.

Two women were standing at the gate.

"Chen Sang, Chen Sang."

Fujiwara Rina couldn't speak Chinese, so only Fujiwara Youzi could knock on the door.

They knocked for a while.

But there was no response from inside.

"Could Chen Sang not be home?" Fujiwara Rina looked somewhat disappointed.

Before heading out today, I had carefully dressed up and even brought homemade rice balls.

If they got cold, the rice balls wouldn't taste good.

Fujiwara Youzi thought for a moment and said, "Chen Sang is off today; maybe he's still sleeping."

"Asleep?" Chen Yongren walked over to them, smiling, and said, "If I were still sleeping now, I'd be a pig."

"Ah!"

The sudden sound from beside their ears startled the two women, making them jump.

Ripple…

No, it was Ripple who was startled.

Following the sound, they saw Chen Yongren looking at them with a gentle smile.

The two women let out a long breath, still patting their chests in lingering shock.

"Chen Sang." Fujiwara Youzi smiled.

Seeing Chen Yongren approach, Fujiwara Rina's expression flashed a hint of shyness, and she lightly nodded at him.

A soft "Chen Sang" floated into Chen Yongren's ear.

"It's cold outside; let's go inside to talk." Chen Yongren opened the courtyard door and led the two women inside.

Fujiwara Youzi and Fujiwara Rina curiously looked around Chen Yongren's home.

Speaking of which.

This was still their first time entering a strange man's home.

They had thought that living alone, he would be messy.

The result.

Clean, tidy, without any messy smells.

"Youzi, madam." After serving two cups of water, Chen Yongren feigned puzzlement and asked, "How did you come?"

"Chen Sang, it's like this…" Seeing Youzi about to speak, Fujiwara Rina gently took her arm, stepped forward, and said, "We still haven't properly thanked you for last time…"

"So I wanted… to come personally to thank you."

"These are rice balls I made myself; please try them."

Fujiwara Rina spoke haltingly in Chinese, her face flushed with two patches of red, nervously taking out a wrapped bundle from her bosom and presenting it with both hands to Chen Yongren.

To keep the rice balls warm for Chen Yongren, Fujiwara Rina had been holding them against her chest.

"Chen Sang, these rice balls were hand‑pinched by my mother, with her own homemade flavored plums inside; I've eaten them since I was little, and outsiders can't get them." Fujiwara Youzi said with a smile.

"Hurry up and open it to taste; if it gets cold, it won't be good."

No wonder you've grown so big.

Fujiwara Rina is actually the legendary rice‑ball immortal?

Homemade flavored plums?

Wondering where it was pickled, Chen Yongren muttered a couple of complaints inwardly, reached out to take the bundle, gently scratched her palm, and smiled.

"Madam, you've gone to a lot of trouble."

"Of course." Fujiwara Rina's face flushed slightly.

What is Chen Yongren doing?

Yet looking at Chen Yongren's expression, there wasn't much change.

Could it be accidental?

How annoying, it's making me itchy.

The cloth wrapping the rice balls still carried Fujiwara Rina's body heat.

Chen Yongren casually opened the wrapper; inside was a small food box, which he lifted the lid of.

Eight rice balls were neatly arranged inside the box.

The rice was crystal‑clear, mixed with fillings like pork floss and cabbage, wrapped in seaweed, and topped with a sprinkle of black sesame.

At a glance you could tell it had been carefully prepared.

Chen Yongren didn't stand on ceremony, picked up a rice ball, popped it into his mouth, and chewed two bites.

Fujiwara Rina crossed her arms over her chest, eyes shining, and softly asked, "Chen Sang, how does it taste?"

She couldn't understand; she had made rice balls countless times herself.

Why today did she feel different, as if she were eagerly awaiting Chen Yongren's emotional response?

"'Taking into account Chen Sang's Huaxia identity, I deliberately adjusted the acidity of the flavored plum.'"

"'I don't know if this will suit his taste.'"

"'Fujiwara‑kun dislikes rice balls; this is still the first time I've prepared rice balls for a man.'"

"The taste is quite good, the saltiness just right, the sour plum's acidity perfectly balanced—this rice ball is truly delicious; if I could, I'd really want to eat it every day." Knowing what Fujiwara Rina wanted to hear, Chen Yongren didn't hold back on these words.

"Really?" Fujiwara Rina's face flushed and her heart raced.

One's own effort truly wasn't wasted!

Chen Yongren still didn't forget to provoke her further: "Madam, I envy Director Fujiwara so much, having a wife like you, I could eat your homemade rice balls every day."

Hearing this, Fujiwara Rina's expression darkened.

"Chen Sang, my father doesn't like rice balls." Fujiwara Yuko laughed: "If you like speaking, you can teach my mom Chinese."

That way, you'll be able to eat her rice balls every day.

After a pause, Fujiwara Yuko joked: "As repayment, Chen Sang, you can't keep collecting our tuition fees."

"Chinese?" Chen Yongren said with a hint of worry.

As for me, I have no problem.

"But does Director Fujiwara know about this?"

"Fujiwara has already agreed to this, Chen Sang, you don't need to worry." Fujiwara Rina was a little excited.

"Old Devil Fujiwara agrees?"

Then I won't hold back; whatever it becomes, it's not my problem.

Chen Yongren's Chinese class has started!

In the first lesson, Chen Yongren used pinyin to teach Madame Fujiwara how to recognize characters.

Fujiwara Yuko looked at Chen Yongren, her eyes sparkling with little stars.

"Chen Sang, is this something you researched yourself?" Looking at the Chinese characters marked with pinyin, Fujiwara Rina's gaze toward Chen Yongren was filled with admiration.

"You're truly amazing! This is much simpler than Zhuyin symbols; with it, I'll definitely find learning Chinese easier!"

Because she was overly emotional, Fujiwara Rina uttered a string of Japanese,

Seeing Chen Yongren's clueless expression, she suddenly realized, hurriedly bowed, and said in Chinese: "Sorry, Chen Sang, I forgot you don't understand Japanese."

Tsk.

White, with a hint of red.

"It's fine, Madam; once you learn Chinese, you won't have this worry anymore." Chen Yongren smiled slightly.

The teaching continued.

Under Chen Yongren's guidance, Fujiwara Rina quickly became familiar with the use of pinyin.

All that remained was to learn more characters and many idioms.

For example.

Studious writing, playing to strengths and avoiding weaknesses, profound yet accessible, safe travels, lure the enemy into a trap, know the roots and details, ancient road warm heart…

No.

At Fujiwara Rina's age, it doesn't count as "ancient road".

"Madam, you've already become familiar with simple pinyin; now you can practice some simple Chinese characters to assist." Chen Yongren said seriously.

"Since Chinese characters are relatively difficult, we can start with the simple ones."

"Huh?" After witnessing the amazing pinyin, Fujiwara Rina was completely won over by Chen Yongren's teaching ability, arms crossed over her chest, eyes shining.

She asked softly: "What character?"

"Zheng." Chen Yongren picked up a brush, sweeping it across Fujiwara Rina's fair, towering…

…on the white paper pressed underneath, he wrote the next character.

Upright and proper, the 'zheng' that is just and unyielding.

"Zheng?" Both the Fujiwara mother and daughter were a little doubtful.